A variety of dispensers for the application of cosmetic products and other applicable gels, liquids, and solids are generally known and used by consumers. One type of conventional screw-based dispenser has a cylindrical outer casing filled with an applicable substance, such as lip balm, wherein the applicable substance is placed upon an axially movable elevator. The axially movable elevator is engaged with a screw contained within the cylindrical casing, and rotation of the screw within the cylindrical outer casing is controlled by a rotatable base adjacent to one of the ends of the cylindrical outer casing. When the base rotates the screw, the movable elevator axially progresses up or down along the thread of the screw within the cylindrical casing, causing the applicable substance to either be propelled or repelled depending upon the direction of rotation of the base.
One problem with the manufacture of such screw-based dispensers is the issue of “up-elevator.” After the screw-based dispensers are molded, they are often transported to another facility to be filled with the applicable substance. During filling, the movable elevator needs to be disposed near the non-dispensing end of the cylindrical casing in order for the cylindrical casing to be fully filled with the applicable product. However, jostling of the empty dispensers during transportation can cause the movable elevator to travel up from the non-dispensing end of the cylindrical casing closest to the rotatable base to a higher position. Not only does the higher position of the elevator result in a screw-based dispenser being less than optimally filled, but the higher position of the elevator even more problematically causes the excess applicable product that would normally fill the dispenser to spill over onto the manufacturing equipment. Cleaning up the manufacturing equipment and locating the insufficiently filled dispenser wastes time and materials.
Another drawback to conventional screw-based dispensers is that they can be disassembled by rotating the movable elevator off the top of the screw. Yet another drawback to conventional screw-based dispensers is a lack of sensory feedback when turning the rotatable base, with the result that a user is unable to ascertain whether the applicable product has been propelled or repelled a sufficient distance by the movable elevator without visual verification. Another drawback is the issue of floating, wherein the rotatable base is unintentionally rotated due, for example, to contact between the rotatable base and a user's pocket, causing the applicable product to inadvertently be propelled.
The manner in which these and other drawbacks of conventional screw-based dispensers are overcome is described in more detail in the following sections of the present disclosure.